Frontier - Amiga Game Unboxing & Comparison with the Atari ST & PC versions

Unboxing the Amiga version of David Braben's Frontier - Elite 2 published by Gametek in 1993 and a comparison of the game with the Atari ST and IBM PC Compatibles, on real computers.
It is the sequel to the legendary Elite which set the standard for the space game genre in the mid-80s. Although there were many unsuccessful attempts at Elite-clones after its release, Frontier fortunately managed to live up to the expectations. Not only did it improve on its predecessor, but it also provided the same feeling and immersion.

The game is huge, featuring a whole galaxy on a disk. There are Solar Systems with planets on which you can land, many different spaceships you can buy, more missions and career options, a conflict between Corporate and Imperial Systems and much more.

The 3D graphics are very nice and it can run adequately even on low-end machines. It looks more or less the same on the ST and the Amiga and even better on the PC due to the textures and more colours.

The sound is very good on all versions, with nice classical melodies and sound effects. It supports the Roland and Soundblaster on the PC, on which the game's tunes sound great. It's a very close call between those and the Amiga, but the latter has got better sound effects, so I think it's overall better, though by a very tight margin.
The Atari ST's chip tunes sound lovely too.

The control is a bit harder than Elite, but more realistic due to the implemented Newtonian physics. You can easily get the hang of it though, especially when playing with the mouse.

The game box is pretty loaded, with three books for you to read. They are written in a way that sets the mood for the game, offering many hints while also being quite humorous.
The manual starts with Commander Jameson's (your grandfather) last will, leaving you an Eagle Fighter ship and the rest is supposed to be the spaceship's manual.
The Gazetteer is compiled information provided by space travelers on various planets you should visit.
Finally, Tales of life on the frontier is the game's novella explaining many things about the Galaxy, the Federation and the Empire, as well as the technology each uses.

Frontier was followed by the not as successful First Encounters a couple of years later.
The latest game in the series is the well known Elite Dangerous.

REM *** User's Memories ***
When it came out I wondered if it would manage to be as good as Elite, so I was pleasantly surprised. I first played it on my Amiga 500, on which it run adequately, despite the quite rich 3D world. When I got an Amiga 1200 the game was really smooth, especially on my Apollo 040.
At first I thought the graphics looked a bit weird, but I very quickly reconsidered and got to like them. I was only put off by the weird faces with the make-up on Comms, because they didn't look futuristic enough to me. After a while I got used to them, though.
I loved the planets' atmospheres and the clouds, the colour changes in accordance with the star's type on various solar systems and many more such details.
I thought the music's sound quality wasn't that impressive coming out of the 1084's speakers, but I changed my mind when I connected the Amiga to my amplifier.
I first played the PC version in 2000 and saw that it featured textures, more colours, etc. I thought it looked great, but I also like it on the ST and the Amiga without them.

REM *** CONTENTS ***
00:00 Introduction
00:17 Unboxing
05:30 Frontier vs Elite
06:13 Versions Comparison
06:27 Frontier on the Amiga
09:48 Frontier on the Atari ST
11:13 Frontier on the PC
14:50 Side by Side Comparison of Frontier's Intro
18:30 Version Rankings
19:24 Ending

#unboxing #amiga #elitedangerous